The outdoor opera, Dante's "La Vita Nuova", which Dr. Lecter and Mr. Pazzi see in Florence, was especially composed for the movie. Composer Patrick Cassidy did not stop at the three minute part as performed in the movie, but composed an entire aria, "Vide Cor Meum".

Hannibal asks Pazzi about being demoted from the Il Mostro case. Il Mostro was a serial killer about whom Hannibal gives clues to Pazzi. This was a subplot that was filmed but never used as it was thought to be too complicated.

The right side of the van following Clarice from her house is damaged with a headlight that does not match the undamaged, left side. Later, as the van is seen before crashing into items, the damage is missing and the headlight matches the other side.

Hannibal Lecter: Dear Clarice, I have followed with enthusiasm the course of your disgrace and public shaming. My own never bothered me, except for the inconvenience of being incarcerated. But you may lack perspective.

It's never made certain. Hannibal, when he says "above or below the wrist?" suggests that he did but he could have been threatening to cut off Clarice's hand in order to scare her into giving him the key. It's also possible Hannibal chopped off only his thumb to wriggle out of the cuff. What is certain is that he definitely did not try to cut through the chain on the cuffs; it would have been too unbelievable and he clearly doesn't have the use of that hand in the final scene.

Q

Why did Mason Verger cut off his own face?

A

Mason was a sexual deviant who was also infatuated with Lecter. Lecter had given him a 'popper' [in the book, a mixture of hallucinogenic and hypnotic drugs] before suggesting that he cut off his face and feed it to the dogs. Verger was based on the real case of a man named Michael who, while under the influence of PCP, did the same thing -- cut off parts of his face and fed them to some dogs. For more information on Michael, see here.

Q

Why didn't Jodie Foster return to play Clarice Starling?

A

In an interview for Total Film magazine, Foster said:The official reason I didn't do Hannibal is I was doing another movie, Flora Plum. So I get to say, in a nice dignified way, that I wasn't available when that movie was being shot... Clarice meant so much to Jonathan and I, she really did, and I know it sounds kind of strange to say but there was no way that either of us could really trample on her.